I spent last week in Bozeman at the Arcadia Leadership Experience. If the location did not tip you off, this was not your run-of-the-mill corporate event. The backdrop of Montana was absolutely breathtaking, but the scenery and location were not what made it so special. This event was bespoke, connected, and intentional, making it the blueprint for corporate events moving forward.
Bespoke: made for a particular customer or user
How can something for multiple people be bespoke? It seems contrary. Corporate events have turned into a box-checking exercise. Even when I started my career in the early 2000s, when I was in the events business, vendors would bring creativity and individuality to their booths. The booth was a signature piece for companies that expressed that brand and “individuality.” Fast forward to when I got into the SaaS world in the 2010s. I was shocked to see booths modularized with a standard small, medium, and large footprint with a small window for companies to add their “flair,” so to speak.
The Arcadia Leadership Experience bucked that trend in a big way, and it was by design. Experience was prioritized over scale. Outdoors or not, it’s hard not to find beauty in the Montana landscape. Why waste that natural beauty in a conference room? Why not use the natural resources as a critical part of the experience? That’s what made this event bespoke: The conference venue was a farm. The “main ballroom” was at a large teepee with the most amazing view you can imagine – no big drapes or a projection screen. The networking happy hour was at a firepit (a real one), dinner was at a field kitchen next to a running waterfall, and breakout sessions were beside a creek. Room blocks were comprised of exquisite glamping teepees that made the outdoor novice feel comfortable and the avid outdoorsman feel at home. Nothing about the event was ordinary; it was a bespoke event catering to its specific attendees.
Connected: brought together or into contact so that a real or notional link is established
The people in this group were connected by their involvement in the B2B SaaS partner community and left connected as humans. The hosts, Jason and Sam Yarborough, personally knew every attendee. That’s important because something this far outside the box has inherent risk, which is mitigated by understanding the people attending. The idea here is not to look for a sea of sameness. Quite the opposite; it was an incredibly diverse group of individuals. What was important was the professional experience, ability to contribute, open-minded and community-driven. Those were the connection points that amplified the bespoke environment.
The B2B SaaS partner community is incredibly diverse. Every environment is different, but those differences have the power to bring people together. The appreciation for different go-to-market models and going beyond the high level with deep dives into the tactics creates deeper connections. It’s one thing to say you need to be data-driven and another to take a deep dive into how to make that happen. These conversations were commonplace and created a common purpose amongst the group.
Intentional: Done on purpose, deliberate
I can’t tell you how often we heard Sam and Jason use the term intentional. The venue, the people, the content, the sponsors, the food, the breakout groups, the experiences – every detail was and felt intentional. That intention brought forward the bespoke nature and connection that only grew as the event continued. The intention to bring together a group of connected people with a purpose to a place filled with natural splendor was done on purpose. The results speak for themselves.
There is a Slack channel established for the group; it’s been active for months leading up to the event. That channel has been at what I’d consider high engagement levels since the week leading up to the event, through the event, and into the following week. You can get a sense of that engagement and the overall sentiment by visiting the numerous recaps on LinkedIn.
People want to feel. It’s rare to actually feel something in a corporate environment. Feeling understood, heard, and accepted is hard. I wrote in my LinkedIn post right after the event that, as adults, we don’t make new friends like we did when we were kids; but this event – this corporate event – created and codified friendships by being bespoke, connected, and intentional. It was a rarity in the corporate world, and one that I hope influences the way more take place in the future.
